Meta Ordered to Pay $375 Million in New Mexico Over Child Safety Failures

A Santa Fe jury on 24 March ordered Meta Platforms to pay $375 million in civil damages for concealing predator risks on Facebook and Instagram. The verdict, delivered in New Mexico state court, marks the first time a US state has prevailed at trial against a major tech company over child safety claims.

New Mexico Attorney-General Raúl Torrez filed the lawsuit in 2023 after an undercover operation by his office. Investigators posed as users aged under 14. The fake accounts received sexually explicit material and contact from adults within days of creation. The operation led to criminal charges against multiple individuals.

"For years, Meta knew its platforms were being used to exploit children and did nothing. Today, a jury held them accountable," Raúl Torrez said after the verdict.

Torrez's office had sought $2.1 billion, calculated at the maximum penalty of $5,000 per violation under New Mexico's unfair practices act. The jury awarded $375 million, roughly 18 per cent of the amount sought.

The Trial and the Evidence

The trial opened with arguments in Santa Fe last month. Torrez's team presented the results of the 2023 undercover operation as the centrepiece of the state's case. Investigators created accounts identifying themselves as children under 14. On both Facebook and Instagram, those accounts were exposed to sexually explicit content and approached by adult users.

"We did not have to go looking for predators. They found our fake children," Torrez told the jury during closing arguments.

The criminal charges that followed the undercover operation formed a parallel track. Several individuals were arrested and charged in New Mexico courts after contacting the fictitious accounts. Torrez's office argued that Meta had knowledge of these risks and failed to act, a pattern the prosecution compared to the tobacco industry's concealment of health data in the 1990s.

Meta's legal team contested the state's framing. A company spokesperson said after the verdict: "We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal. We have invested billions in safety measures and employ tens of thousands of people working on these issues."

The $375 million figure sits well below the $2.1 billion ceiling. Under New Mexico's unfair practices act, each violation carries a maximum fine of $5,000. The jury's award suggests it found Meta liable for at least 75,000 individual violations across the relevant period.

What Comes Next: Public Nuisance and Remedial Programmes

The case now moves to a second phase, commencing 4 May in the same Santa Fe court. A judge, sitting without a jury, will determine whether Meta created a public nuisance under New Mexico law.

That second phase carries different stakes. If the court rules Meta's platforms constitute a public nuisance, the judge may order the company to fund public programmes designed to address the harms identified at trial. Torrez's office has signalled it will seek funding for child protection services, mental health support and digital literacy initiatives across New Mexico.

"The damages are one thing. The real question is whether this court can compel Meta to change the way it operates," Torrez said in a press conference on 25 March.

Meta's appeal will likely focus on the applicability of the state unfair practices act to platform design and content moderation decisions. The company has previously argued that federal law, specifically Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, pre-empts state claims of this kind. New Mexico's legal team successfully argued at trial that Section 230 does not shield companies from liability under state consumer protection statutes when the company itself engages in unfair or deceptive conduct.

A 'Big Tobacco Moment' for Tech

Attorneys-general in at least 40 US states have filed suits against Meta over child safety in recent years. New Mexico is the first to go to trial and secure a verdict. The remaining cases, many of which are consolidated in federal multidistrict litigation, have been progressing through discovery and pre-trial motions.

"This is the Big Tobacco moment for Big Tech," Torrez said on 24 March. "The jury looked at the evidence and reached a clear verdict. Meta knew. Meta profited. And Meta did not protect children."

The $375 million award is modest relative to Meta's revenue, which exceeded $160 billion in 2025. The litigation's broader weight rests on the legal pathway it establishes. Other state attorneys-general now have a jury verdict to point to. The 4 May hearing on public nuisance will test whether courts can impose structural remedies on tech platforms, not just financial penalties.

Torrez's office spent three years building the case. The undercover operation, the criminal prosecutions and the trial strategy followed a sequence familiar from regulatory enforcement actions in other industries. The Santa Fe courtroom delivered its answer on 24 March: $375 million and a second phase still to come.